The Fascinating Turnip

The Troy Tate Sessions

It was mid 1983 and the band was preparing their first release, The Smiths.
As advised by Geoff Travis, head of Rough Trade Records (their label), they sought for the production skills of Troy Tate. A month passed and they had already recorded 14 songs.
In August 1983, while recording a BBC session, they met producer John Porter, who, after listening to a cassette of the sessions, offered his services to the band; labeling the aforementioned version “out of tune and out of time”.
The band accepted and the album took the form we know today, having been released in February 1984.

So what was the first version like?
Well the sound, tracklist, title and track lengths are the main differences, though the last one bears little significance:


The main differences in the tracklist, as you can see above, are the exclusion of tracks like The Hand That Rocks The Cradle, This Charming Man and Still Ill on the original recording, which had their place taken by These Things Take Time, Wonderful Woman, Handsome Devil and Jeane.

Despite being fond of all the tracks in both of these recordings, there are some that I’m bound to enjoy less than others: The Hand That Rocks The Cradle and These Things Take Time are examples of these songs. I’m just a tad indifferent towards them; they’re not unpleasant yet they don’t seem to stand out much.

That said, I find the insertion of The Hand That Rocks The Cradle in the John Porter version rather useless . However, adding Still Ill and This Charming Man was quite ingenious, as both of these tracks are undoubtedly highlights in my book.

Even though it doesn’t have the characteristic mouth organ intro at this stage, Still Ill has the fast, yet not agressive guitarwork, the lyrics and the voice that make it undeniably great:

“I decree today that life
Is simply taking and not giving
England is mine - it owes me a living
But ask me why, and I'll spit in your eye

(...)


Under the iron bridge we kissed
And although I ended up with sore lips
It just wasn't like the old days anymore

(...)

For there are brighter sides to life
And I should know, because I've seen them
But not very often ...

(...)

Am I still Ill?”

It’s really a song that urges me to sing it loudly and theatrically, to what’s probably the shock, dismay and horror of others.

On a different note, Handsome Devil, Wonderful Woman and Jeane are tracks I feel shouldn’t have been scrapped;
(I shall discuss Handsome Devil on another occasion, so as not to make this terribly heavy).
Wonderful Woman has a fantastic touch of dark humour to its lyrics, which coupled with what I consider a distinct vocal performance on Morrissey’s behalf, make for a fantastic song:

“Here her head, she lay
Until she'd rise and say :
"I'm starved of mirth;
Let's go and trip a dwarf"

Oh, what to be done with her ?
What to be done with her ?
Oh ...


Ice water for blood
With neither heart or spine
And then just, and then just
To pass time; let us go and rob the blind”

Terribly gloomy, and quite depressing, it doesn’t lack the wit that effectively counters the song’s original dramatic weight.

Jeane reflects Morrissey’s interest in kitchen sink dramas quite obviously, with lyrics reflecting nothern english working class situations and ideals:



The whole sound of the original recording is much more lo-fi than the one we’re used to.
Johnny Marr’s guitar tends to blend with Morrissey’s vocals, or perhaps even stand out comparatively; while improvisational hints surface now and then.
The tracks all sound a bit more “full”, sluggish and perhaps distant. That isn’t to say it’s bad at all, it’s what it is, an alternative version.

Reel Around The Fountain benefits from the lo-fi sound, it makes the track warmer, though not necessarily better than the original.

This is a recurrent feeling for me: while listening to both versions of most of the songs, I can’t decide make up my mind concerning the one I enjoy the most.

What Difference Does It Make reveals itself a bit rawer, angrier, with background vocals accompanying "The devil will find work...", which is something I found quite pleasant. I feel they add a certain emotion to a song that’s already extremely emotional:

Miserable Lie is hardly different from the most popular version, yet Morrissey’s voice seems to be amidst a sea of guitars, and more or less in the middle of the track you can hear Johnny Marr taking his liberties with said instrument. While I’m not sure if that’s something I’d associate with their general sound, I find it adds to the speed and general mood of the track. A refreshing addition, really.
It remains a fantastic song with highlight lyrics, full of resentment and desperation:

"So, goodbye
Please stay with your own kind
And I'll stay with mine
(...)

I know I need hardly say
How much I love your casual way
Oh, but please put your tongue away
A little higher and we're well away
The dark nights are drawing in
And your humour is as black as them
I look at yours, you laugh at mine
And "love" is just a miserable lie
You have destroyed my flower-like life
Not once - twice
You have corrupt my innocent mind
Not once - twice
I know the wind-swept mystical air
It means : I'd like to see your underwear
I recognise that mystical air
It means : I'd like to seize your underwear
What do we get for our trouble and pain ?
Just a rented room in Whalley Range
What do we get for our trouble and pain ?
...Whalley Range !
Into the depths of the criminal world
I followed her ...

I need advice, I need advice
I need advice, I need advice
Nobody ever looks at me twice
Nobody ever looks at me twice "

Hand In Glove: utterly romantic, passionate, and pessimistic; a song about a strong love that survives petty things like prejudice and poverty, but is plagued by pessimism. I think I miss Morrissey's voice being on the "front row" on this one, though:

"Hand in glove
The sun shines out of our behinds
No, it's not like any other love
This one is different - because it's us

Hand in glove
We can go wherever we please
And everything depends upon
How near you stand to me

And if the people stare
Then the people stare
Oh, I really don't know and I really don't care

Kiss My Shades ... oh ...

Hand in glove
The Good People laugh
Yes, we may be hidden by rags
But we've something they never have

Hand in glove
The sun shines out of our behinds
Yes, we may be hidden by rags
But we've something they never have

And if the people stare
Then the people stare
Oh, I really don't know and I really don't care

Kiss My Shades ... oh ...

So, hand in glove I stake my claim
I'll fight to the last breath

If they dare touch a hair on your head
I'll fight to the last breath

For the Good Life is out there somewhere
So stay on my arm, you little charmer

But I know my luck too well
Yes, I know my luck too well
And I'll probably never see you again"

In this version a certain instrument complements the outro beautifully, which I find in the John Porter one is the harmonica. I'm not sure what this one is though, it sounds like the harmonica but a bit more mysterious and drowned in the whole song.

The original version of Suffer Little Children sounds a bit more "disturbed", sickly, if you will; perhaps due to the extra janglyness of Marr's guitar. Morrissey's vocals aren't quite as powerful on this version, which I feel is a bit of a disappointment, along with the fact that it isn't the ending track. I enjoy the short piano outro though, which is sweet and innocent in a childish way.

It's always refreshing, listening to a different version of something you already know; unless it's ghastly and puts you in a terrible mood.
This version, however, definitely worked for me, and I appreciate the rawness, sometimes agressiveness, of the tracks, though I might prefer some of the John Porter versions.

The cover I used for the original release is most certainly not accurate, but I fear I'm not sure which one it is.

Added to the main differences, there are small changes in the lyrics and in the way they're sung.